Originally posted at Hoffmania...
As you read from Armando, the ethical fallen rock zone called Bill Frist has given his real reason for wanting Alito.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told Republican Party activists on Friday night that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito was the "worst nightmare of liberal Democrats."
So because Alito's a nightmare to liberal Democrats - which I'm guessing is a majority of Democrats - he's the guy Frist wants.
Great reasoning. And for the troll audience (which seems to have grown by leaps and bounds out of desperation), let's show you a quote from the guy who made a couple of SCOTUS recommendations during the previous administration. Mind you, this was before the GOP's "takeover" of the senate in 1994...
In 1993, with the resignation of Justice Byron White, [President Clinton] had the first opportunity for a Democrat president in twenty-six years to nominate someone to the Supreme Court.
At the time, I was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and would play a significant role in the confirmation process. Consequently, it was not a surprise when the President called to talk about the appointment and what he was thinking of doing.
President Clinton indicated he was leaning toward nominating Bruce Babbitt, his Secretary of the Interior, a name that had been bouncing around in the press. ... Clinton asked for my reaction.
I told him that confirmation would not be easy. At least one Democrat would probably vote against Bruce, and there would be a great deal of resistance from the Republican side. ... Our conversation moved to other potential candidates. I asked whether he had considered Judge Stephen Breyer of the First Circuit Court of Appeals or Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. President Clinton indicated that he had heard Breyer's name but had not thought about Judge Ginsberg.
I indicated I thought they would be confirmed easily.
Maybe easy confirmation is another shallow reason for selecting a SCOTUS justice - maybe not. But actually, the senator who wrote those words was willing to submit these names in the hopes of avoiding a fight over such an important decision. He ended up being right - and to this day, Clinton is villainized for making these "liberal" appointments by the yelling heads of neocon punditry.
Clinton sought his input in this decision as a courtesy. In return, Sen. Orrin Hatch - the writer of the above words - politely recommended Breyer and Ginsberg. Today, Hatch is of course a willing passenger in the wingnut lock on American politics.
The long-time traditional olive branch toward the minority party in America was destroyed by the Bush White House and enabled by Sen. Hatch's GOP compadres who abuse their power by locking Democrats out of every aspect of the politcal process.
Frist's immature and irresponsible comments reflect that rampant contempt. It's a shameful period in our once-proud history.